Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/89

 as they were in Momentary Expectation of the Arrival of a Superior Officer and the ill treatment of which they speak was punishment he found it necessary to inflict to make them do their duty (as we found out after Sir George left) and to make them do their Duty and they did not get so much as they deserved—they told Sir George that the night of the Murder the deceased gave them liquor. It is now found that it was the man whom the Deceased Employed as an assistant (temporary till I sent him one from here) who gave them the Rum that he stole pure Spirits from the Store and gave to Every Canadian and Iroquois in the place (of which there were Eleven and Eleven Sandwich Islanders) one Bottle of pure Spirits Each and which was only discovered by the confession of the one who assisted him to do so, and of which my deceased Son might not have been in the least aware as there used to be so much Liquor sold to the Indians at that place that the men used to get it from them and get drunk in consequence of which my son had to punish Several and to keep them all in the fort and prevent them from going to the Lodges. The Canadians and Iroquois are in confinement and Will remain so till I hear from London where a whole detail of the case is forwarded as though they are British Subjects the Deed was perpetrated on Russian Territory at a place we lease from the Russians My Compliments to my Uncle and Mr and Mrs McKenzie And Believe me to Be

Your Affectionate Cousin

John McLoughlin

P. S. In consequence of this unfortunate affair We have been able to make an arrangement with the Russians by which no liquor is issued to Indians in that quarter and consequently no liquor is issued to Indians by the Hudsons Bay Company as before this I had stopped it at all our establishments on this side of the Mountains

J McL